I’ve always had a passion to make money and be financially stable. My interest started as a child when I wanted to buy Christmas presents on my own for my family. My full-time responsibility as a child was to be a successful student, so when I received my parents’ blessing to launch my first side gig at 8 years old, cleaning and shining my father’s work shoes, I was ecstatic. My father taught me how to perform the service, set my pricing, manage my business budget, find customers and provide customer service. As a young entrepreneur, this became the foundation for me and sparked my interest in learning and doing more. Running my little, big business and earning $10 every week was exciting!

As I grew older, the opportunities to work for myself and others were plentiful. I was very serious about my financial goals, and this showed in my work ethic.

After graduating from college with a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in international administration, I started my 25+ year career in corporate America, I was always disappointed with being underpaid based on my knowledge and experience. This led me to consistently have a side gig to help me to achieve my financial goals. As an African American woman, I’ve experienced gender pay gaps by race and ethnicity and this has fueled the need to create multiple streams of income that can be done successfully while maintaining a 9 to 5. 

This is why The Side Gig Hustler started; to encourage, educate and aid in the launch of side gigs that work well alongside a 9 to 5 or while managing other full-time responsibilities. We help people reach their financial goals and create better lives for themselves and their families.

The Side Gig Hustler is an online small business consulting firm designed to help the 9 to 5 professionals make their bank accounts happier by launching a side business. We specialize in two specific areas. First, I teach how to become a Notary Signing Agent, conduct loan signings, and close other types of real estate transactions as an active income source with our Savvy Signer training programs. Secondly, I teach how to monetize one’s knowledge and adviceby creating and selling digital products as a passive income source through our membership, The Consultant Crown Collective.  

I have utilized my educational and business experience and launched several services and product-based side businesses in my lifetime. My profitable sweet spot is creating and launching multiple types of income sources that complement one another and allow me to better manage them along with a full-time job or other life responsibilities. We need both active and passive income sources and this is what I pour into my clients.

The phrases side hustle or side gig often have a negative connotation that these types of businesses are illegitimate, unprofessional, casual, or temporary. The Side Gig Hustler debunks these negative stereotypes by helping our clients build profitable and impactful income sources that have often generated more income than one’s full-time job.

If anyone is ready to explore and launch an income source that compliments their 9 to 5 and other life responsibilities as a Notary Signing Agent or by selling their knowledge or advice 100% online via digital products as a passive income source, they should visit us at www.thesidegighustler.com.

When I launched The Side Gig Hustler, the first digital course that I created taught individuals how to become a Notary Signing Agent. I hired a consultant to help me to create my first Facebook Ad to use to get sign-ups for my free webinar. I chose this marketing strategy because I believed that this was the fastest method to get leads, build my email list, and establish myself online as an expert in my field. It was also a challenge for me to push past my fear of being on camera to pitch my product to strangers.

As a new online entrepreneur, with no online presence, this was a huge risk. I wasn’t trained on how to host webinars but I’d attended several and modeled my strategy after theirs. I practiced the presentation repeatedly, made sure that I knew how to use the webinar software, confirmed that my checkout page worked, and I was ready to go. 

I went live on the webinar and had a few technical issues but the engagement from the attendees was positive, despite! I made it through the presentation, made the pitch about the course, and before I answered the last question from the attendees, I heard my cell phone start to ping. I had my first $495 sale! It was the BEST feeling ever to make my first sale during my first webinar. I continued hosting free webinars every other week and each time I made at least 5 sales. This was in August of 2018 and hosting free webinars is still the best marketing strategy that I use in my business for this course, to date.

I teach this strategy to my clients in the e-Learning world and they have learned how to package their knowledge and advice into a digital product, such as a digital download, e-Book, masterclass, or digital course, and are selling it 100% online as a passive income stream.  The barrier to entry is low and this industry is beginner-friendly.

At the end of this year, my side hustle will become my full-time job and I am thrilled! Not only is this a source of income, but this is my creative space that has changed the lives of my clients and that is the motivation that keeps me pushing forward.

Being intentional about how I spend and plan my time, and implementing automated software in my business has been a game changer for me while having a 9 to 5. I easily manage my business in a few hours each day, in the evenings.  Now that I will be able to focus on it full-time, the opportunities will be endless and I’ll be able to expand my reach.

I am self-taught in most of what I’ve implemented in my business and while most of my clients are beginners or new entrepreneurs, a key milestone is seeing my clients launch their businesses and be profitable.

While there are some myths that side gigs aren’t “real businesses” or “they won’t be very profitable unless you are doing it full-time”, I hope that my story will motivate someone to take that leap and ignore the naysayers.

This October, The Side Gig Hustler will celebrate 5 years in business and has served over 3200 customers. I am proud of the positive impact my business has had on my customers’ lives and the increase in their earnings because of it.